Warcraft (AKA Warcraft: The Beginning)

Dir: Duncan Jones

2016

****

Goblins, Dragons and Knights has never really been my thing. When I was a kid I was into Space, Astronauts and Dinosaurs, I loved sci-fi and didn't really go in for Lord of the Ring type stories. I certainly never got into the World of Warcraft but I always felt a little envious of the kids who did get into it. I was always a bit of a nerd as a kid (and even more so as an adult) but World of Warcraft was always seen as the limit. That's when nerdism goes too far I thought, and yet, those kids who were into it were part of a group, they lived it and were totally enveloped by it. I'm always envious of other people’s passion, it doesn't matter what their passion is but to be so absorbed and stimulated by that one thing is something that I've always wanted. However, I wanted a girlfriend more and didn't want to get beaten up by the bigger boys at school, so I kept well away from Warcraft. Until now. I have limited knowledge of the actual story behind Warcraft but I understand the basics and I imagine there would be many stories you could tell. Initial reviews of the film had me believe that the film was clichéd and predictable but I couldn't disagree more. I found the trailer to be refreshingly misleading in fact, as I didn't see any of the plot twists coming and I was entertained throughout. Some of the CGI wasn't great, mostly the internal background stuff but the creatures and everything else was outstanding. The editing was painfully jumpy at first, again during the internal scenes, but it soon became the epic it promised to be. I thought the story was quite refreshing considering it had Orcs, Knights and Kings, the script was far from what you'd expect from the genre, as were the characters. It wasn't a simple Men vs Orcs battle that one would expect either, the story is layered and so are the characters. There is a certain level of subtle humour throughout as well which I particularly enjoyed and I would hazard a guess that Duncan Jones was a fan of Army of Darkness and Monty Python's Holy Grail. I think casting a lesser-known group of actors was a good idea, all do a great job and I can see many of them earning success for the franchise, and I believe this really is the start of something good. The film is left in the balance and I wanted to know what happens next immediately. It's a great start to a series that I think has legs. Duncan Jones is clearly the sort of creative force you want when making this kind of film and he does it justice. It's not just a colour by numbers adaptation of a board game, it's got everything you could possibly want from an epic of this genre and more. I was pleasantly surprised and rather impressed.

A Hologram for the King

Dir: Tom Tykwer

2016

****

Tom Tykwer's adaptation of Dave Egger's novel A Hologram for the King is a somewhat perplexing affair, which is in my opinion, the best way of going about it. A Hologram for the King deals with confusion, panic, regret and frustration without focusing on a particular group or section of society, if anything, it is focused on everyone, as at one time or another, one of these emotions will effect you, more often than not, completely unnecessarily. The story doesn't make a whole lot of sense, it's about confusion after all, so actually it makes a lot of sense. Life is ridiculous at times and Tykwer has visualized this perfectly. I love the film's total irreverence to formula, what may come across as clumsiness is actually rather refreshing, indeed, it is refreshingly awkward to watch and yet I didn't leave the cinema scratching my head or being puzzled as to what the film was all about. Tom Hanks clearly gets it and gives an outstanding performance accordingly. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it's a rather surreal journey of conflicting ideas that actually makes perfect sense. Great films make you look at yourselves, I've never been to Saudi Arabia, I know nothing about holograms (other than that they are very cool) and I've never had to sack a factory of workers but I have complete empathy with Tom Hanks' character. The film flickers between comedy, tragedy, drama and romance quite smoothly, even though each genre feels as unexpected and misplaced as the last. A hell of a lot happens in very little time but that said, nothing feels rushed, complex or simplistic. It is a complete contrast to the last film I watched (Hector and the Search for Happiness) which was a tiresome exploration of a similar issue. A Hologram for the King never preaches, there is no real message to be had, just an example of an everyday occurrence. One mans trip to the chemist is another man's journey into the desert to sell a King futuristic communication devices, it's the abnormal everyday, a surreal journey into the ordinary. A beautiful contradiction meets the spectacular ordinary, I found it to be strangely comforting and consistently engrossing, which I find to be quite typical of a Tom Tykwer film.

Top 10 - Nerd films

I should probably confirm what I mean when I refer to a film as being a 'nerd film'.

Star Wars, Star Trek, The Lord of the Rings and maybe even Ghostbusters are probably the sort of thing most people would initially think of when they think of the term nerd. They'd be right in most cases but that isn't what this list is about, nor is it about films that feature nerds such as Revenge of the Nerds, Porky's, Weird Science or Napoleon Dynamite for instance. This list is a celebration of real nerds and their passions/obsessions. Anyone can be a nerd, the subject you are 'nerdy' about doesn't really matter (although it's generally about the obscure), it's about being creative with it. Certain subjects that don't generally appeal to the masses, capture the imagination of a few, very unique and rather special members of society, one that I'm proud to be a member of. This is my list of favorite films, featuring some of the world's greatest nerd ventures, nerd heroes and 'archaeologists of low brow pleasure'.

10. Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope

9. Comic Book: The Movie

8. Doc of the Dead

7. With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story

6. Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films

5. Future Shock! The Story of 2000 AD

4. Elstree 1976

3. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

2. Atari: Game Over

1. Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector

*Notable exceptions
Anvil: The Story of Anvil - For the Punk/Rock nerd
Computer Chess - Appreciated and well executed, if only it was real...
The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened? - For the Superhero/Superman nerd
Marwencol - Uplifting story of obsession as a form of therapy.
Muscle Shoals - Ends as a bit of an ego piece by Dave Grohl but an interesting look at technical nerdism in sound and music.

Hector and the Search for Happiness

Dir: Peter Chelsom

2014

**

It doesn't really matter who you are, how wealthy you are or how hard you work, after a while of doing the same thing over a long period of time, you will want to get away, do something different and pause for thought. It's completely natural. However, it is extremely hard to sympathize, and indeed, even understand the reasons why Hector, a successful and wealthy psychiatrist who is well respected, has a beautiful home in one of the most desirable places on the planet and a loving relationship with a beautiful women, would feel the need to go to the other side of the planet to work out what happy is. Rich and successful people can feel unfulfilled and indeed the poorest of people can be among the happiest in the world, this is understood, it is just that in Francois Lelord's book and Peter Chelsom's film, Hector is a poor vehicle in which to deliver this message. The book is full of advice such as 'Take more holidays in the sun", which is good advice but will make those of us who can't afford regular trips abroad, quite the opposite of happy. This is essentially the films problem. Simon Pegg's Hector is a messy character, completely juxtaposed and never believable. If you don't like Simon Pegg (and I do) you are essentially screwed. Hector's journey is the most convoluted and contrived piece of writing I've seen for a long time as he is kidnapped and beaten one minute and laughing and joking the next. He's intelligent but naive, clumsy but regimental, organised and chaotic, you could argue that this is art imitating life but it really isn't, it's cheap script-writing. The ideology sounds nice but it is never realistic, it is frustratingly shallow and incredibly patronizing. Still, it looks like Simon Pegg had a fun time and we all like Simon Pegg so that's okay. Cheating doesn't count if there's no penetration after all. It's so over the top and ridiculous it should have been a musical, maybe with slightly less schmaltz, a little bit more thinking and a lot more of the fantasy element that runs through the story they could have come up with something special, although that film has already been made, twice in fact, once in 1947 and then again in 2013. It was called The Secret Life of Walter Mitty both times.

Love Is Strange

Dir: Ira Sachs

2014

*****

Ira Sachs' romantic drama Love Is Strange is one of the sweetest films of 2014. John Lithgow and Alfred Molina play Ben and George, a loving couple who decide to marry after being together for 39 years. Soon after the marriage, George, a member of the church who works as a music teacher in a local catholic school, is sacked from his job. His sexuality and relationship with Ben had never been an issue with the school before but governing bodies decide that he can no longer work there, now that he is married to a man. With Ben being a little older and now retired, money suddenly becomes an issue and they are forced out of the New York apartment they have shared together for many years. They ask friends to rally round and help them with temporary accommodation but due to a lack of space, they are both separated. Ben stays with his nephew, his wife and their young son Joey whom he ends up sharing a bunk-bed with. His nephew's wife (Marisa Tomei) works at home as a writer and fast becomes irritated with Ben's habits. Meanwhile George is having the opposite problem. He is sleeping on the couch of their former neighbours, two gay cops, who like to party loud and frequently. The pair miss each other’s company greatly and meet up as much as they can and console each other while ultimately feeling unwanted, just months after their wedding and feeling tremendously loved by everyone. It's a beautifully subtle look at commitment and love in the face of adversity. Most films that deal with civil rights issues and homophobia tend to be all high-drama, with shocking conclusions, violence etc. Love Is Strange is quite the opposite and isn't that sort of film but is, in a way, far more effective. Losing an income is a devastating reality for many people and to be dismissed from a job unfairly and due to discrimination is appalling, but it happens. Love is Strange isn't directly about that though, it's about the bigger picture. It looks at friends, family and attitude and it looks at two men in love, not just as an excuse to make a statement but for what they are, two very normal people in love. Their issue isn't necessarily connected to their sexuality either. Ben and George are gay men but they are also old men, gentle men and somewhat naive men. They're not painted as victims but they are a good example of a broken system. Most importantly, they are a beautiful example of a loving relationship and how beautiful that is no matter who or what you are. The performances from Lithgow and Molina are breathtakingly real and are my favourite of 2014. It's the perfect love story, unfortunately real life isn't as perfect and just when you want the film to go all Hollywood and go all happy, Ira Sachs, to his credit, reminds you that real life has a way of getting in the way of all that. Watch with a huge box of tissues to hand.

WΔZ (W-delta-Z, AKA The Killing Gene)

Dir: Tom Shankland

2007

**

Tom Shankland's 2007 film WΔZ, or W-delta-Z, is basically a modern serial killer thriller with a nonsensical sudo-scientific idea attached for gimmick. From the beginning, I hated the film's direction. I hate wobbly cameras at the best of times but this took the style to another level. It's like the camera operator was wearing acme spring boots or was bouncing on a moving trampoline of something. A moving camera is supposed to give the film a raw and realistic feel but that is far from the case here, it actually makes it look like they are trying to distract the viewer from an uninteresting set and shoddy acting. I'm a big Stellan Skarsgard fan but his gruff talking, tough detective is a tired character, he does it justice but it's something we've all seen far too much already. No one else gives a performance worth mentioning, although it has to be said, the performance and the character who is revealed to be the killer is nothing short of dreadful on both counts. I still can't see Paul Kaye in a serious role either, I like him but then I think of all the good actors he has made fun of over the years as Dennis Pennis and wonder what he is doing there? I've heard many comments that WΔZ is an intelligent alternative to films such as Saw but I disagree. WΔZ wishes it had the same budget as Saw did. The torture scenes seem to be toned down purely because of the limited budget and not out of some kind of superior stance. People have also commented that the film was good, the title was not but I would argue that the title is the film. It is utterly unconvincing, from story, to performance, to conclusion. You cannot compare WΔZ to films such as the original Saw or Se7en, it is nowhere near being in the same league. Predictable, generic, formulaic and worst of all, forgettable.

Crimson Peak

Dir: Guillermo del Toro

2015

****

Crimson Peak is Guillermo del Toro going back to his roots and doing what he does best, a good old fashioned creepy thriller/horror, although as good as it is, it's not his best within the genre. However, del Toro has set a rather high standard, one that very few have matched, but then I'm not sure you can better such a uniquely beautiful film such as Pan's Labyrinth (or indeed compare it to anything else) and I'll always have such a soft-spot for Cronos, so I wonder if he really could do anything better in my opinion? I guess it doesn't really matter though as his films are consistently good, even Blade II is brilliant and sequels to hit comic adaptations aren't ever supposed to any good.

 Crimson Peak is a deliciously dark and Gothic-looking haunted house horror. There is far more to it then just ghosts and ghouls though and it's pretty much cliche-free, with no endless scene of our protagonist walking about in the dark encountering such false-scares such as the camera suddenly panning to another other cast member slightly out of shot or a cat, complete with blood-curdling meow, jumping out from behind a curtain, that's never been del Toro's style. What we do get is a gorgeous looking supernatural adventure, full of creepy suspense, character development (hurrah) and clever writing, that is somehow bursting with vivid colour and pitch-black at the same time. It's the sort of thing people expect from Tim Burton still, even though del Toro's been doing it better for quite some time now. Mia Wasikowska is good but personally, I think casting her is a little lazy. She has that constantly inquisitive looking face that is perfect for the role but it also limits her somewhat. Tom Hiddleston plays his part well, even though I didn't like his character's change in direction. I think Jessica Chastain is the big surprise here, not because I don't think she's any good, far from it, she's always good, it's just I've never seen her in this type of role before and she masters it in an effortless manner. My only real criticism is the CGI. Most of the time it's great but there are a few plastic looking ghosts floating about that really didn't have the scary impact they were created for. It also gets a bit stabby towards the end. Apart from that I really enjoyed it and I haven't enjoyed a haunted house film for ages.